The Penrhyn language is a Cook Islands Maori dialectal variant[2] belonging to the Polynesian language family. It is spoken by about 200 people on Penrhyn Island and other islands in the Northern Cook Islands.[3] It is considered to be an endangered language as many of its users are shifting to Cook Islands Māori and English.
| Penrhyn | |
|---|---|
| Mangarongaro, Penrhynese, Tongareva | |
| tongareva | |
| Native to | Cook Islands |
| Region | Penrhyn Island, Northern Cook Islands |
Native speakers | 200 (2011 census)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pnh |
| Glottolog | penr1237 |
| ELP | Penrhyn |
 Penrhyn is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Phonology
editAlphabet
editThe alphabet used in the Penrhyn Dictionary has 21 letters: ⟨a, ā, e, ē, f, h, i, ī, k, m, n, ng, o, ō, p, r, s, t, u, ū, v⟩[4]
Long vowels are written with a macron.
Consonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ ⟨ng⟩ | |
| Stop | p | t | k | |
| Fricative | (f)[a] v | s | h | |
| Liquid | l ⟨r⟩ |
- ^ [f] is present in loanwords from languages like Rakahanga-Manihiki and Tahitian.
Tongareva is one of the few Cook Islands languages without a glottal stop [ʔ]. There is allophonic voicing of stops present.[4]
Grammar
editReferences
edit- ^ Penrhyn at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Te Reo Maori Act 2003 – via www.paclii.org
- ^ "Penrhyn". Ethnologue. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ a b "About - Penrhyn Dictionary". Dictionary of Cook Islands Languages.
Further reading
edit- Shibata, Norio, ed. (2003). Penrhyn-English Dictionary. ELPR Publications Series. Vol. A1-005. Kyoto: Nakanishi. OCLC 249683569.